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Darnell Nurse Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Edmonton Oilers have made official what Jason Gregor of TSN reported earlier today, Darnell Nurse is headed to injured reserve. Head coach Dave Tippett explained that Nurse suffered a “cracked finger” in overtime and will be out 2-3 weeks. The team has also moved Slater Koekkoek to injured reserve, who will be out 3-4 weeks. To replace them, Philip Broberg and William Lagesson have been recalled from the AHL. In a cap move, Mike Smith is now on long-term injured reserve, getting more tests done and is still week-to-week.

While Koekkoek’s exit from last night’s game was obvious, as he played just over three minutes, Nurse logged more than 31 in the win against the Winnipeg Jets. The team’s obvious No. 1, that’s already the sixth time this season that Nurse has recorded at least 27 minutes of ice time. An all-situations horse for the team, he had 11 points in his first 16 games and was showing that last season’s breakout was not a flash in the pan.

The Oilers rewarded Nurse with a huge eight-year, $74MM contract extension after his outstanding 2020-21 season, which saw him finish seventh in Norris Trophy voting after scoring 16 goals and 36 points in 56 games. Losing him now, right as the team appears to be taking the next step, is an absolute crushing blow to the group. Edmonton has won seven of their last ten games and sit alone in first place in the Pacific Division with a 12-4 record overall.

Now, not only will the team have to find someone to take those minutes, but it can’t even be Koekkoek moving up. Instead, it looks like Broberg, one of the team’s top prospects, may get his first chance at the NHL level. Drafted eighth overall in 2019, the 20-year-old defenseman can skate like the wind and has the size to compete at the NHL level, but some have critiqued his decision-making in the past. Those decisions will be even more important as he moves to the NHL after just 13 games in the minor leagues. Broberg had 10 points in those games with Bakersfield, after spending the last two seasons in the SHL.

After tomorrow night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Oilers are set to hit the road for three matches next week. They aren’t in a particularly heavy part of the schedule though, with a three-day break after that road trip ends next Saturday, meaning they at least will be able to ease Broberg into the lineup with sufficient practice days. Still, it seems very unlikely that he or any other player on the roster will be able to have the impact that Nurse does, meaning they’ll have to find another way to lock down the defensive side of the puck over the next few weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

AHL Shuffle: 11/19/21

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In typical Friday fashion, the NHL has just a pair of games on tap as teams prepare for a busy weekend. While there will certainly be fans watching to see if the Vancouver Canucks can show any semblance of structure, the focus of many will be on tomorrow night’s action. With that in mind, we’ll keep track of all the minor shuffling that happens ahead of the weekend.

Atlantic Division

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have assigned Alex Barre-Boulet to the AHL, confirming that the Lightning were the only team to claim him last time around. The team does not need to send him through waivers again after reclaiming him from the Seattle Kraken last month.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have returned Kevin Stenlund to the minors, dropping the team to just 12 active forwards at the moment. That certainly could change by tomorrow’s game, which will see them face off against the Golden Knights.

Central Division

  • The Nashville Predators have sent Cole Smith back to the Milwaukee Admirals without him actually seeing any game action on this recall. The 26-year-old still has just one game under his belt at the NHL level, and is waiting for his first career point.

Pacific Division

  • Jason Gregor of TSN reports that Philip Broberg is on his way to the Edmonton Oilers, adding that Darnell Nurse has suffered an injury and could miss several weeks. The team has not confirmed the injury at this point, but obviously, losing Nurse would be a huge blow.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have recalled Sean Durzi from the AHL, sending Austin Strand down in his place. Durzi, 23, has been on fire for the Ontario Reign this season, posting 13 points in 12 games. The second-round pick from 2018 has yet to make his NHL debut.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have sent Benoit-Olivier Groulx back to the AHL for the time being, after suiting up for 15 games with the team this season. The 21-year-old has just three points in his rookie season and had been a healthy scratch recently.
  • The San Jose Sharks have assigned Nicholas Merkley to the AHL, as they activate Jeffrey Viel from injured reserve. Viel hasn’t played a game yet this season and is still looking for his first NHL point.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have sent Sven Baertschi and Daniil Miromanov back to the AHL, suggesting someone will be available tomorrow when they face the Blue Jackets.

This page will be updated throughout the day

New York Rangers Looking For Middle-Six Forward

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The New York Rangers lost last night to the Toronto Maple Leafs, mustering up just one goal against the red-hot Jack Campbell. That lack of offensive output probably only strengthened general manager Chris Drury’s belief that his team needs an extra forward, something that was reported before the game by TSN’s Darren Dreger. The Rangers are after a “middle-six” forward, following the season-ending injury to Sammy Blais.

Today, Arthur Staple of The Athletic examines eight potential targets for the Rangers, including Calle Jarnkrok of the Seattle Kraken and Phil Kessel of the Arizona Coyotes. Those are obviously very different types of players, but Staple examines several others that should fall somewhere in the middle. Interestingly, the scribe also notes that a veteran defenseman is also on the Rangers’ shopping list.

In last night’s PHR Live Chat, the idea of another depth forward being the Rangers most pressing need was also touched upon. The team has been good through the early part of the season but has notably been outscored at even-strength. Their powerplay, helmed by top talents like Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider and Mike Zibanejad, has been dynamic, carrying them through several games with plenty of production. It’s past those few of skaters that things start to get a bit less rosy, as young talents like Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil have offered very little offense. Those three, in particular, have combined for just eight goals and 12 points, not quite what many expected heading into the season.

So another forward is on the mind of Drury, and he has plenty of ways to acquire one. The Rangers have extra second and fourth-round picks this year, plus more than $9MM in cap space. On an expiring deal, they could take on an expensive forward like Kessel or even someone that comes with a bit higher price in terms of future assets. The team is in a good place for buying, though they will have to consider the term when acquiring a new forward. Adding money to next year’s cap, when Zibanejad and Adam Fox both have huge extensions kicking in, would likely be a mistake at this point unless they are adding a key contributor.

Anders Lee, Ross Johnston Placed In COVID Protocol

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The New York Islanders are supposed to open their brand new arena tomorrow night, but they may be without their captain for the festivities. The team announced today that Anders Lee and Ross Johnston have been placed in the COVID protocol.

To be clear, the team has not confirmed that either one has tested positive for coronavirus. Entering the protocol does not necessarily mean they will miss tomorrow’s game, as we have recently seen in the case of Dylan Larkin. Larkin was removed from a game earlier this week, only for the positive test to be confirmed false.

Should Lee and Johnston be confirmed positives, however, with any symptoms, they would be unavailable to the team for a minimum of ten days. That would mean the full five-game homestand would be without their captain, not exactly an ideal situation given the circumstances around the new rink.

Kevin Labanc To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Department of Player Safety has some work to do today, as Kevin Labanc of the San Jose Sharks will have a hearing to determine supplementary discipline for his slew foot of Tyler Bozak last night.

Labanc received a two-minute minor for tripping on the play, which happened partway through the first period. Bozak appeared to escape serious injury.

Slew-footing has been a point of note with fans around the league this season, with P.K. Subban at the center of several incidents that resulted in injury. While Subban has only received fines to this point, a hearing suggests that Labanc will receive at least a one-game suspension.

For his part, the Sharks forward told Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group that it was not intentional and he was “just trying to battle hard.”

Snapshots: Coyotes, Canadiens, Strome

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The word “tank” is avoided at all costs by professional sports teams, but across the landscapes of the NHL, MLB, NFL, and NBA there are always clubs that embrace the losing, at least for a short period of time, in order to secure better draft positions. Though he won’t use the word either, it appears as though Arizona Coyotes Bill Armstrong understands exactly what it will take for his team to get to the top. Armstrong spoke with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, and explained clearly what his thought process was like in the summer.

We could have just re-loaded and gone at it and made the playoffs once every four years — if lucky, get by a first round, but most times get beat out. We had the conversation, ‘We want to be great here. We want to take the chance to be great.’ And the only way to do that is through the draft.

This kind of mindset isn’t a surprise, but it does shed some light on what the Coyotes will think about as the trade deadline approaches this season. The team is all-in on a complete teardown, with their eyes on the draft as the way to move forward. Arizona has already collected 12 picks for the 2022 class, including eight in the first two rounds. With players like Phil Kessel, Anton Stralman, Johan Larsson, and Ryan Dzingel all on expiring deals, perhaps they can add a few more before the deadline.

  • The Montreal Canadiens don’t look like a competitive team this season either, but they’ll move forward with two youngsters entering the lineup tonight. Mattias Norlinder is set to make his NHL debut and Cole Caufield was recalled today from the minor leagues. Still, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote yesterday in his latest 32 Thoughts column that he believes Montreal would consider adding a puck-moving defender. With Shea Weber gone and Jeff Petry struggling at times this season, the Canadiens have had a lot of trouble generating offense from the back end.
  • Dylan Strome played just over ten minutes last night with the Chicago Blackhawks, so despite the team’s recent winning streak (they’re 4-0 since making a coaching change) all eyes remain on the former top prospect. Friedman writes that in previous talks, the team was looking for a prospect or a draft pick in exchange for the underperforming 24-year-old. Strome, who looked like he was going to turn into a star during his first year in Chicago, has just two points in nine games this season and has been scratched several times. His $3MM cap hit is actually the fifth-highest among active Blackhawks forwards, with Tyler Johnson on injured reserve and Brett Connolly in the minor leagues.

Dylan Larkin Clears COVID Protocol

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Nov 18: Emily Kaplan of ESPN reports that Larkin is confirmed negative, meaning he should be able to exit the protocol and play tonight for the Red Wings. The team has officially confirmed he had a false positive and Larkin was at the morning skate in Las Vegas with the rest of the team.

Nov 17: During last night’s game against the Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin exited partway through and didn’t return. The team announced that he had been pulled because of COVID testing and is now in the protocol.

The Red Wings did not confirm whether Larkin tested positive, but Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that a positive test result from the morning was received by the team during the game. Should Larkin develop any symptoms, he’ll be held away from the team for a minimum of ten days. He will likely stay in Dallas while the Red Wings travel to Vegas for a match against the Golden Knights tomorrow.

Losing your captain is never ideal, but Larkin is also in the midst of a strong stretch of play for the Red Wings. Even in last night’s game, he scored before leaving, and now has goals in four of his last five matches. The Red Wings ended up losing the game and are now at 8-8-2 on the year.

Troy Brouwer Announces Retirement

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Though he hasn’t played since the 2019-20 season, and he’s still technically on Calgary Flames payroll, Troy Brouwer has announced his retirement. The veteran forward and St. Louis Blues issued a release that includes some of Brouwer’s most memorable moments, along with many thanks to the people that helped him along the way.

Brouwer, 36, was never even expected to make it to the NHL. Selected 214th overall in 2004, a few selections from what would be the end of the draft these days, the big winger was known more for his physical play than his offensive upside in his early junior days. That unquenchable work ethic and fearlessness eventually turned him into a star for the Moose Jaw Warriors though and then carried him right into success in professional hockey. Brouwer would score 41 goals in his first AHL season and 35 in his second, all while racking up more than 220 penalty minutes.

It wasn’t long before he was in the NHL, playing regular minutes for the Chicago Blackhawks. In 2010 he was a key part of the team’s Stanley Cup championship, but he would find himself shipped out of town as one of the group’s salary cup casualties. He still found success in Washington, posting a career-high 25 goals and 43 points in 2014-15. The same could be said about his short stint in St. Louis, before stops in Calgary and Florida.

In all, Brouwer will retire with 851 regular season games under his belt, but 106 more in the postseason. His 182 goals and 363 career points are many more than anyone expected from the seventh-round pick, and a great example to show prospects that aren’t selected quite as high as they hoped.

Conor Timmins Undergoes Knee Surgery; Out Rest Of Season

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The Arizona Coyotes have announced that defenseman Conor Timmins has undergone successful knee surgery and, as previously reported, will not return this season. The team also announced that prospect Liam Kirk has had knee surgery and will also not play again this season.

Timmins, 23, just can’t catch a break when it comes to his health, as he’ll now miss another full season due to injury. Selected 32nd overall in 2017, he has played just 97 games since the start of the 2018-19 season. He missed that entire year and a good chunk of the following ones with concussion issues and now will be 24 before he hits the ice for a competitive game again.

It’s a troubling trend for a player that was so impressive with the Soo Greyhounds and Team Canada in junior. At his peak, Timmins would immediately shut down opposition rushes with a quick stick, and transition the puck back with crisp passing. The 6’2″ defenseman had 61 points in 67 games in his draft year, and then helped Canada win gold at the WJC in 2018.

In today’s NHL where mobile, lengthy defensemen that can effectively move the puck are worth their weight in gold, Timmins seemed to be a prototypical option. Now, after another lost development year, it’s hard to know exactly where his career path lies. Acquired from the Colorado Avalanche as part of the Darcy Kuemper deal in the offseason, Timmins signed a two-year deal with Arizona that carries a cap hit of just $850K. Hopefully, he can return to full strength next season and play a regular role on the team’s blueline.

Kirk meanwhile was in his first season at the AHL level, after spending last season in the EIHL with his former club team, the Sheffield Steelers. The first player born and trained in England to be selected in the NHL draft, the 21-year-old went 189th overall in 2018. After two successful years at the OHL level, he signed his entry-level contract in June and was off to a fine start with the Tucson Roadrunners. In eight games he had two goals and three points, but will have to wait until next season to continue his development.

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